The Stampede Railroad tunnel was part of the old Northern Pacific rail line. The contract to start boring the tunnel was awarded to Nelson Bennett, a Canadian-American railroad magnate who was the president of the Fairhaven and Southern Railroad which first connected Bellingham Bay region with the rest of the country. Work commenced on the west end of the tunnel on February 13, 1886 using hand drills. Air drills were later used on June 18,1886. Average daily progress using the hand drills was 3.52 lineal feet while the air drills was 5.8 lineal feet. Work commenced on the east end of the tunnel on April 1, 1886 with air drills being used as of September 1, 1886. The two tunnels met on May 11, 1888. The tunnel was opened for rail traffic on May 27, 1888. The tunnel is 1.8 miles long and cost $1,013,006.63 to build. 26 laborers were killed building the tunnel while 39 were injured.
Revision to the line took place between Lester and the tunnel between 1912 and 1915. This revision included the line being double-tracked from Lester to the west end of the tunnel with the east end of the tunnel being double-tracked from the tunnel entrance to Easton. In August of 1984, Burlington Northern (who took over the line from the Northern Pacific) mothballed the line as it was considered redundant. However, in 1995 thru 1996, the BNSF Railway (who was previously known as Burlington Northern) rehabilitated the line and brought it back on line as a response to increasing rail traffic in the Pacific Northwest. As of 2007, BNSF and Washington State government agencies are committed to enlarging the Stampede Pass Tunnel to accommodate larger intermodal freight cars which are frequently double-stacked. The current height of the tunnel at 22 feet can not accommodate the taller double-stacked intermodal freight cars.
This cache is located on top of the tunnel. The cache is just off of National Forest Rd. 41 which is a wide dirt road. The road to the cache can be done in a Prius. However, if its in the winter, don't even attempt in a Prius. The road will likely be impassable during the winter months as the elevation in the area of the cache sits at 3300 feet.